The Ambassador's Journey
by Ichabod Ebenezer
Summary: After a successful job, Mal is accosted by a couple who want him to save their son. Mal wants nothing more than to get out of there, until he finds out their son was once under his command back in the war. That got his loyalties, so he pays attention, until the other shoe drops: His ship was hit by Reavers.
1. Chapter 1

Why couldn't more days turn out like this one? Cargo traded hands, and no one tried to cheat or shoot anyone. Mal got in, got paid and got out. Just like it's supposed to go. Just like it hardly ever goes. With any luck, his crew would all still be aboard ship, ready to leave. Now that would make for a perfect day. Well, nearly perfect. He _was_ on a Core World, which didn't tickle him none, but he'd soon have that fixed.

"Sergeant Reynolds!" someone said. By the time it registered that someone was calling to him, he realized they'd said it several times. He tried to look casual as he surveyed his surroundings for the source of that call. He locked eyes with an elderly couple dressed in silken finery. They were moving as quickly as their arthritic joints would allow, trying to catch up with him, and the gentleman smiled and waved when they made eye contact.

Mal swore under his breath, stopped and turned toward them. He took a quick measure of his surroundings. There were at least two ways this section of town could lead to an ambush, and he was already anxious to leave. That was two strikes against the couple.

"Haven't been sergeant for some time. People what know me call me captain."

"Yes, we know," the woman said. A hint of accent told Mal that she'd grown up speaking Mandarin, but had learned English sometime in her youth. The outfit said Core-worlder, and well off at that. Chances were Jiangyin or Gonghe. "That's why we need your services."

"Not currently taking passengers, and my crew allotment is past full. I recommend any one of these other fine ships. Excuse me." He turned to leave, but the gentleman caught his arm is a surprisingly firm grip.

"We're not looking for passage, Sergeant Reynolds. It's about our son," the old man said pleadingly.

Mal shook off the man's hand. "Told you once already not to call me sergeant."

The old man bowed humbly. "My apologies captain. But whenever our son spoke of you, he always called you Sarge."

This took Mal aback, and it was a moment before he recovered. "Your son got a name?" he asked.

"Tsu Li Jie," the woman said, and she produced an old photograph of Mal's squad from early in the Unification War.

Memories flooded back as Mal took the photograph from her. There was his younger, more hopeful face, smiling back at him from underneath the dented flak helmet. There was Zoë, just a private at the time, and next to her was Li Jie. He often reflected on the war, but he rarely thought of Li. His shining moment had been eclipsed, minutes later, by the Independent's most crushing loss.

"I… I lost contact with him after his evac. What ever happened to Li Jie?" He handed the photo back to her.

"You can keep it, captain," she said.

"Those days are nothing but baggage now, and I've got more than I can carry already," Mal said, perhaps a bit harshly.

The old man broke the silence while the woman awkwardly took the photo back. "He was barely half a man when they brought him back to Di Yu," he said.

Di Yu! Mal thought. I was close.

"We spent every penny we had on a mechanical arm, but the doctors said he'd never walk again. The government made a big deal of pardoning him after the war was over, and he became a local celebrity. He was always a positive spirit, and he continued to work to make things better for everyone around him. He used his popularity, and rose in office to eventually become an ambassador. The Alliance paid for several spinal surgeries, and in the end, an implant, which got him out of his wheelchair for good."

"Sounds like he's made a nice life for himself as part of the Alliance he once fought against. What does he need me for?"

The woman began digging through her purse as she spoke. "He was on a diplomatic mission to Meadow, negotiating a trade agreement that would have brought our planet greater wealth. The ship never made it. There had been an increasing number of Reaver attacks in the space between Newhope and Murphy, and eventually his ship's transponder was found."

"Mrs. Tsu, no one sympathizes more than I do. Truly. But I can't help the dead."

"We assumed he was dead too! But then, two weeks ago, this video showed up," Mr. Tsu said, motioning toward his wife.

She finally managed to pull a data pad from her purse, and she held it up for Mal to see. "This was taken on Aphrodite." A Reaver ship came to rest in the main street of a farming village during some form of celebration. Reavers dropped on ropes and began slaughtering the people who couldn't run fast enough, mainly women and children. Mrs. Tsu froze the video, and zoomed in on one of the Reavers, in the act of shooting a young boy in the back. The gun arm he held out was mangled, and barely functional, but it was clearly made of metal.

Mal took the data pad and panned back over to the ship, zooming out to get it all in shot.

"That's a Shrike class fighter. Least it was once. Holds a crew of five. They couldn't have squeezed more than seven in there. Why hasn't your Alliance done anything about this?"

"Oh, no, Captain Reynolds! They fry bigger fish. They don't go out that far for one little ship, they only care if it hits a capital world, and even then, they'd shoot it down."

"I don't understand. What are you hoping for?"

The two shared a look before the husband answered. "We want you to rescue our son. Bring him back to us."

"Can't be done," Mal said firmly. "It's not possible."

"'There's one true thing about Sarge,' our son always used to say, 'he never leaves a man behind,'" the wife said.

They were on Aesir. The Independents were flush with recent victories, and were trying for a toehold that would become a base for future attacks against the rest of Himinbjorg space. A previous feint toward Heinlein meant that the bulk of the Alliance fleet was days away, and so the siege against their last fortified installation began.

Mal's squad was hiding out in the cave network by day, and digging lines of trenches by night, getting closer to the fort by fifty yards a day.

The Independents were aware that the clock was ticking, but they were committed to this victory. If they could breach and take the fort, they had the supplies to hold it against all comers, draining significant Alliance resources from the fight elsewhere.

"How you holding up?" Mal asked a young Russian farm boy, recently added to his squad. The man's eyes were wide, and he visibly tensed every time another shell hit the field outside. He'd also cleaned his assault rifle at least three times in the last hour.

"I'm ready to end this, Sarge."

"Aren't we all, soldier," Mal said, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Okay, listen up, everyone."

He looked around at his squad. Zoë had been napping against one wall of the cave, and she pushed her helmet back with one finger to signal her attentiveness. A conversation between two of them, and a card game between another few came to an abrupt end, and Li Jie, who had been cleaning his mess kit with dirt from the cave floor, stopped what he was doing and turned to listen.

"Tonight's the night. Our trenches are two hundred yards from the fort. Command believes that the enemy will think we've got three days of trench digging before an all out assault. Now, every night so far, they've stopped the shelling to conserve ammunition. Our spy inside the fort says they're almost out, but I conjure they've held some in reserve in case we break through their defenses."

"Our orbital support has jammed all planetary communication, and they've shot down every ship that's broken atmo. That means, the fort has not called in reinforcements. That's a fact. That sword's got two edges though, because we have no communication either. We have no way of knowing if the Alliance has figured it out on their lonesome. Worst-case estimate going into this was that they could be here tonight. That's why we have to push now."

He gave them a few moments to process the situation. Many folks in his position might just give their squad the good news, but Mal believed that people performed their best when they knew the stakes, and he trusted his squad to keep it together. Of course, a little ego stroking didn't hurt.

"Now, Command didn't pick us for our skills at digging. Any squad of greenhorns could have spent the last several nights on trenches. This job was about positioning. And now we're where we can execute what Command knows we're best at, because they know we'll succeed. Hoo-ah!" he said.

"Hoo-ah!" his squad responded enthusiastically.

Good. They were ready. "T minus ten minutes to sundown, we make our move twenty minutes after that. Whittaker, Balzac, Dennis. You see a helmet poke above that wall, you put it down." His snipers signaled their readiness, each in their own way.

"Tsu, Redmane, you're our runners. You stop for nothing until you touch that wall. Petrovich, Ukende, you guard Redmane with your life. Alleyne and I will cover Tsu. Any questions?"

"Just one sir," Zoë said. This took Mal by surprise. She's only ever said maybe two words before.

"What is it, Alleyne?" he asked

"Which team is cooking breakfast in the fort's facilities tomorrow?" she asked.

The squad chuckled, and Mal could see some of the tension go out of them. "That would be the team whose bomb goes off second."

The first ten minutes went by insanely fast, and just like the last several nights, the shelling campaign stopped once light was too low to see targets. The next twenty minutes dragged. Mal loosed the snipers to take up positions as they saw fit. They were only just assigned to the squad, but they were good team players and weren't too good to pick up a shovel when it was time to dig a trench. He hoped at least a couple of them could remain permanently, but Command would put snipers where they were best suited.

He and Ukende picked their spots on the fortress, making sure they were far enough apart that a good enemy sniper wouldn't be able to spot both groups. Then the two shared a drink from Ukende's flask. He never did name the concoction, but it was something he made in his own still, and involved fermented soy, whey and whatever berries he found to take the edge off. It was one of the most disgusting tastes Mal had ever suffered through, but it was strong, and in any case, it's been part of their pre-mission ritual since Hartford Ridge.

They synchronized their watches, and Ukende's group disappeared down the forward trench to wait it out in a spot nearer to their target. Mal let two minutes go by, then it was their turn.

"Zoë, Li, move it out," he said.

Li Jie gave a reflexive, "Sir!", and Zoë fell silently into line.

Li Jie had three standard issue pistols strapped to either leg and across his belly, and a thirty-pound satchel on his back. Zoë had an assault rifle, same as Mal, four extra clips, and an old mare's leg rifle strapped to her right thigh. He thought about questioning her running speed with that in place, but just like the ritual with Ukende's flask, this weapon had worked out for her so far, and Mal wasn't going to jinx that.

Mal stared at his watch while they crouched in the trench. Three seconds left. He held up two fingers and counted down silently. At zero, he thrust his fist forward, and Li Jie and Zoë instantly mounted the wooden planks that served as a ladder out of the trench, and began racing across the field. Mal was right behind them. He chanced a glance to his right, hoping to confirm that Ukende's team was on the run as well, but of course, he could see nothing. This was a good thing. If he could see them, so could the enemy.

There was the crack of a sniper rifle that echoed off the canyon walls, making it impossible to locate its source. Zoë and Li Jie were shadows against the darkness ahead, and neither one faltered. There was no tale-tell 'pfft' of a near-miss striking the nearby dirt, so Mal decided it was one of his team that took the shot.

Thirty yards down, a long ways to go.

The footing was tricky in the dark, navigating the craters left by daytime shelling, but they made good speed. Adrenaline was working overtime to keep fatigue at bay.

Two more rifle cracks meant the enemy was aware something was going on. Still his runners were going full-bore, and by then, the silhouette of the fortress walls was a deeper black against the night sky. Half way there, and the closer they were to the walls, the harder it would be for someone to shoot at them without exposing themselves to Mal's snipers.

Suddenly the night was ripped open as a white-hot flare shot high overhead. Mal swore under his breath. Their spy inside the fort said they were out of flares. Someone must have kept one in reserve.

There was no turning back now. The flip-side was that they could now clearly see the uneven ground ahead, and ran faster still.

Automatic rifle fire spit up the dirt at Zoë's feet, and was immediately silenced by another sniper bullet. They were close now, maybe fifty yards to go. Mal chanced another look off to his right, and could see Ukende's group out there, slightly further from their goal than his team.

That's when the first shell hit. It exploded a half-dozen yards behind Mal, where they'd been just seconds before. He was flung forward with the force of the blast, and landed on hands and knees.

"Scatter!" he yelled. He got quickly to his feet and was running again. Zoë and Li Jie went off at forty-five degree angles from each other, but didn't slow down. The next shell wouldn't likely miss, but there was no way it would get all of them.

Mal looked to the side again, and Ukende's group had done the same. Just then, a shell exploded right in front of Redmane, tearing him to pieces. It wasn't even worth checking for a pulse. Ukende just reached down for Redmane's backpack and pulled it from his severed torso as he ran past. He was the runner now. He dogged right, then left, then right again.

Then everything went south. The scream of a squadron of Alliance jets came echoing up the canyon.

So close to their victory, and the reinforcements arrived. Mal stopped running and scanned the sky for them. Twin trails of exploding dirt snaked their way across the field toward where he stood, and suddenly Zoë was there, tackling him out of the way.

They hit the ground hard, and the line of jets passed overhead. They had less than a minute before they'd be back for another run. Suddenly there was nowhere to hide.

"Fall back!" he yelled, looking at the impossible distance to the nearest trench, and even further to the safety of the cave network. He and Zoë helped each other to a standing position. He turned to see Li Jie still running for the fortress.

"Fall back!" he yelled again, but Li Jie didn't slow or turn.

"I've got this, Sarge!" his voice came across the plane. And he did. He was closer to the fort now than he was to Mal and Zoë. He was going to make it.

But it didn't matter.

Those jets meant the Alliance fleet was in orbit. With that kind of reinforcement, there was no way they could take the fort, even if it was breached. And even that didn't matter, because the real battle was taking place in orbit between the main Alliance fleet, and the Independent's small support squadron.

They'd be lucky if they could escape.

But Li Jie kept going. He was pulling off his backpack now, and activating the clamps. He reached the wall and pressed the bag against it, hard. The clamps fired off, and held the bag to the wall. Li Jie pulled the cord and ran.

Mal could hear the fighters coming back around. "Come on, come on," he said, watching Li Jie barreling toward them. He could see it written across Li Jie's face. Even a symbolic victory is better than total defeat.

The satchel bomb went off, and the ground shook even at this distance. Massive chunks of steel-crete blasted in all directions and a seam tore upward along the height of the wall. Li Jie was pushed to the ground with the blast wave, but he got back up, with a smile on his face. He turned to see the destruction he had wrought.

Mal took a quick account of his people. Petrovich and Ukende were almost to the trenches already, like they should be. Zoë was still with him, and Li Jie was way behind. He had no way of knowing where his snipers were. There was a chance that communications were back online since the Alliance was here anyway, so Mal gave his radio a shot. He tore it from the velcro fixing it to his shoulder. "Abort, abort! Everyone back to the extraction point. Repeat, abort! Dust-off will not wait for you!"

He reaffixed his radio and turned to Zoë, giving her a bit of a push. "Go! Run!" he said. Then he turned back toward Li Jie and yelled, "Run!"

Li Jie was pumping at full speed, but the jets were coming fast. "Mal turned to see Zoë still there and said, much more urgently, "Run, run, run!" The two of them ran for the trenches as fast as they could, stumbling and flailing over the broken terrain, but never slowing.

The ships overhead began carpet bombing. Explosions were going off in a line behind them. Mal and Zoë were lifted from the ground by a close explosion, then ducked and covered, anticipating the next.

A shotgun blast of dirt hit them in every exposed area, and they could hear nothing after the volume of the explosion. Mal checked himself quickly. All his fingers were there, and both legs. He looked to Zoë, and she also escaped without injury. The jets continued the bombing raid over the trenches and back toward the Independent's main line.

Mal turned to see Li Jie, laying half-way out of a crater. One arm was blasted clean off, and there was a large chunk of metal sticking straight up out of his back.

Zoë grabbed Mal and pulled. She was shouting something, but Mal neither heard nor payed attention. He was rooted, staring at Li Jie where he lay, looking for any sign of motion.

Zoë's tugging on his arm became more and more insistent. It finally registered to Mal, but he continued to stare at Li Jie. He lay with his face in the mud, smoke and steam rising around him, no sign of movement.

Tug, tug, tug. Mal took an involuntary step, but continued to stare. Suddenly, as if it were connected to a switch somewhere, his hearing returned.

"Sarge!" Li Jie was calling.

Mal turned and grabbed Zoë by both shoulders, shouting in her face. " _We never leave a man behind!_ "

He turned, and ran back for Li Jie. On his periphery, he could hear the sound of jet engines coming closer again, but his full attention was on Li Jie.

He fell to his knees at Li Jie's side. The arm was blackened, the bleeding cauterized, but his back was a different story. Blood was pouring out of him around the jagged chunk of metal. Zoë got there a moment later. Mal and Zoë's eyes met for a moment, but they didn't need to say anything. Zoë put her hands on Li Jie's back on either side of the shrapnel. Mal nodded.

"Why'd you stop running, Li Jie," Mal said. "This ain't even that bad." He grabbed the chunk of metal and ripped it out. Three inches of the tip were covered in Li Jie's blood.

He tossed it to the side and opened a pouch on his vest. He removed the self adhesive bandage and pressed it onto the wound, putting all his weight on it.

Li Jie screamed and kept on screaming.

Moments later, Ukende and Petrovich were there. They had brought back the wooden planks from their trench ladder. Mal nodded at them, and they laid them down next to Li Jie. Mal rolled him over onto the planks, then everyone took an end and started running with Li Jie riding the makeshift stretcher.

By some miracle, they made it back to the relative safety of the caves, and on from there to the dust-off site. The fighter jets that had first strafed then bombed them were met with anti-aircraft fire once the Independents had rallied.

Mal's squad saw Li Jie aboard the medical transport alongside so many others, then it took off, and he never saw him again.

"Please Captain Reynolds, our son needs your help."

Mal returned to the present and met Mrs. Tsu's eyes. His expression softened. "Li Jie was a good soldier, and I would do for him anything I can, but like I said, this can't be done. You probably never met a Reaver, but you surely know the stories. Now, I can tell you, they're true. Even if by some miracle, we separate him from his crew and capture him alive, what we'd be bringing back wouldn't be your son no more. It's a thing that spends a spell in your son's skin, but it sure ain't him."

"We are under no illusions, captain," Li Jie's mother said. "We know that if our son is in there, he's buried deep in torment. But we have the best Core world doctors and psychiatrists. We've gotten assurances that if we could bring him in, they will do what they can to bring him back."

Li Jie's father put his arms around her shoulder. "Like I said, our son is important to them. He is a success story, a poster-boy. It's bad publicity to have their poster-boy attacking Core worlds. Few know right now, but word will spread, and we can spread that word. If it's possible, even remotely, they will heal him."

"That just makes things worse. Nobody's ever brought a Reaver back alive, and if your doctors are so willing to work on him, I've gotta believe someone's tried before. There's a reason they didn't succeed. Reavers don't look after their own survival. They don't break off from a losing fight. They don't worry about over-cooking grenades, and they don't stop for mercy's sake."

"Now, I don't fly a gunship. I count amongst my small crew a doctor, a companion and a preacher. We ain't up for a fight no one's won before. I conjure the position you've reached in life, you ain't used to people telling you no, so I won't hold it against you. But here it is again: What you are asking for is impossible."

"The governor of Di Yu has dipped into our planet's development fund to offer a reward for Li Jie's safe return. Fifty thousand credits. In addition, we will pay you upfront what our family has scraped together, another ten thousand credits.

Ten thousand credits? Mal thought. That's some good scraping. "And, when I say 'impossible', what I mean is…"

"We know what we're asking of you. We know that no plan is perfect, and it might not work. But we know you're the only one who would try."

"And, Captain Reynolds, if you can't save him, at least bring us his body, so we can bury him properly."


	2. Chapter 2

"That's not possible," Jayne said after Mal described what he'd agreed to.

"You're only saying that because no one's ever done it," Mal argued.

"Yeah. And no one's ever done it on account of it's gorram nuts."

Wash entered the mess, grabbing an apple as he passed by the fruit bowl. River was having one of her nights, and Simon was sitting with her in the infirmary. The rest of the crew were sitting around the table, discussing something. "We're out of atmo, and course is locked in." He took a bite of the apple when he reached the table, then looked back and forth between Mal and Jayne, noting the tension. "What did I miss?"

"I found us a job," Mal announced.

"So quickly! That's fantastic," Wash said. "What sort of a job?" He took another bite of the apple.

"It's not a job," Jayne said, "it's a suicide mission."

"Less excited now," Wash said, his face falling.

"You haven't even let me explain my plan," Mal said.

"Ain't no plan makes doing something that dumb smart."

"But for this kind of money…" Mal said.

"Reavers, Mal. You wanna take on Reavers," Kaylee said. "Are you insane?"

"Hang on, Kaylee, let the man finish," Jayne said. "How much money?"

"Sixty thousand creds," Mal said.

"Yeah, but… Reavers," Wash said.

"Barely any Reavers. Five," Mal said, holding up all the fingers of one hand and showing it around to the crew. Then he set it back down. "Seven, tops."

Wash cursed in Mandarin, and sat down. "Who's going to pay us sixty thousand credits to end seven Reavers?"

"That's were this gets truly crazy," Inara said. "He wants to rescue one of them."

"Rescue. A Reaver? It can't be done."

"And here we are at the beginning again," Zoë said.

"No," Wash said, looking around at the crew incredulously. He got a sympathetic response from Inara and Kaylee, but the others were listening. "We can't even be considering this. I can't even fathom how a client convinced Mal of this. For any amount of money!"

"Husband of mine, you're on the wrong side of this one," Zoë said warningly.

"Since when is wanting to do something insane considered the 'right side?'"

"The man we're going to rescue," Mal said, voice raised and impatient, "is named Tsu Li Jie. He was a corporal under me in the Unification War."

Jayne swore. "That's just great. Now, me, I'd rescue the guy on my own for sixty thousand, but when it comes to that war, your head just ain't on right."

"Let me put this a different way. That's where this ship is heading. Now, I've got a plan. It's a good plan, but it involves all of you. If anyone wants to sit this one out, you can stay in your bunk and hope that we do okay without you, or that the Reavers who win this one are less demanding of your time. So, who likes plan B?"

There was silence around the table, as Mal looked at each one meaningfully.

"Okay," Kaylee finally said, "what's the plan?"

"Alright. There've been a number of Reaver attacks outside the Murphy sub-system, but we're looking for one ship in particular. It's a Shrike class fighter, red and gold and… Reaver-y these days. It was last seen on Aphrodite, and it's been operating alone. If we hurry, it may still be there.

"Kaylee, remember that bit we replaced last time we were on Beaumonde?"

"Sure, the plasma manifold."

"Sure. I want you to pull that back off."

"But that will leave us dead in the — oh."

"Right. But it can be refitted quickly, right?"

"Quick means a whole n'other thing when you're being boarded by Reavers, but it's a five minute job, yeah."

"Good. Once we see our man, I'll radio you, and the timer starts. Wash, we want the cockpit empty so the Reavers don't suspect anything, but I want you just outside, ready to punch it on my second call."

"Okay… I'll have to key up an auto-start sequence and bypass the pre-flight checks."

"Jayne — you, me, Book and Zoë will be in the cargo hold, waiting for them to pop the airlock. You let Zoë and me take them once they come in. Book, you're backup, in case something don't go right. Jayne, you've got the tranq gun. Remember, we want him alive. No one opens fire until we see your target."

"How will we know which one he is? Reavers do all manner of things to their faces."

"He'll be the one with the metal arm. Once he comes in, I call Kaylee. You bring him down the moment you have a clear shot. Be ready to reload. I've got no idea how many darts it takes. Once he's down, I make my second call to Wash, and we get out of there quickly. Any questions?"

"You said Shrike class," Wash said. "That means a turret and stingers! They're going to give chase, and then we're —"

"Don't worry, Wash. I've got a surprise for them. I don't conjure they'll be coming after us."

"I've got a question," Jayne said, one hand raised.

Mal sighed. "Yes, Jayne?"

"What if they come in through a wall instead of the airlock? Kinda throws your whole plan into arrears, don't it?"

"Yes… Well, that's why we're pulling out the plasma thingy."

"Manifold," Kaylee said.

"Right. It's a standardized part, fits many engine types, and it's failed us, what three times in the past five years, right?"

"Thereabouts, yeah," Kaylee confirmed. "But what's that got to do with anything?"

"That means most ships will carry a few spare."

"Most proper ships, yeah."

Mal glared at Kaylee before going on. He knew she didn't mean the ship, but its captain. "The way I figure it, the Reavers will want to salvage this ship. Add it to their fleet. Hard to do, filled up with hard vacuum."

No one had a good argument for that.

"So, you, Book and Zoë are going to take out six Reavers on your own," Jayne said.

"Up to, anyway. Could be just four. Minus the pilot."

"Seems close to fair," Zoë said.

"Oh, I didn't say anything about fightin' fair."

"You said this plan would take everyone," Inara said. "What do I do?"

"Well, your part…" He looked her up and down. "Your part is going to require a change of outfit."

* * *

"This is Inara Sera of the cargo ship Serenity. Mayday, Mayday. We lost our plasma manifold and have no spare. We've been adrift for days with no way to restart our oxygen scrubbers. I managed to lock myself in the short-range shuttle which has it's own O2 supply. The rest of the crew are dead. Please, If anyone receives this, all I need is a plasma manifold. The ship is yours for safe passage to a Core-world. Message repeats."

The pilot switched off the message and sat looking at the ship. It was adrift and electrically dead, but appeared to be in good condition otherwise. Bigger than his, more crew. Make good raiding vessel. The pilot brought up an identity match of the ship. Firefly class, Series Three. Old. Schematics showed two shuttles. Why hadn't anyone taken the second one? Suspicious. Schematics also listed room for five crew and eighteen passengers. Could be ambush. Stupid though. No guns. Looks like fun.

The pilot activated maneuvering thrusters and brought the harpoons to bear. He slammed on a red button next to the console, setting off a ship-wide klaxon.

* * *

The waiting was the hardest part. They had one lantern in the cargo bay, hanging from a pulley near the catwalk. It swung gently, causing the chain to creak eerily and casting shadows that ran around the room. It was cold, and dark, and knowing what came next had the crew jumping at the sudden movement of light.

"Can I just take a peek?" Wash's voice came over the radio, startling Mal.

"Bìzuǐ, Wash. They see you, this whole thing goes sideways. Worse then sideways. It goes gǒushǐ. Stay out of there and wait for my signal. And stay off the comms!"

Mal looked across the bay at Zoë, shaking his head. "That méi nàixìng husband of yours is making me nervous. When are those Reavers getting here?"

"Now who's impatient? The Reavers will —"

Zoë was interrupted by the clang of metal on metal as the Reaver ship harpooned Serenity's cargo bay, puncturing it on either side of the airlock door. One of the harpoons shot through the wooden crate Zoë had been hiding behind. Barbs extended from the harpoons, and they snapped back against the hull. The crate was smashed into kindling, and straw and porcelain remnants rained down. The space between harpoon and hull hissed as air escaped.

"Shepherd, seal that leak! I've got this one! Zoë, you're on point! Don't shoot until our man is in! I don't want to have to chase him through a Reaver ship."

Mal and Shepherd Book ran to either side of the shuttle bay doors. Mal opened a utility box on his side and pulled out two canisters, tossing one over to Book. They then climbed up to the harpoon tips and began laying a metallic foam along the gap around the harpoon.

The ship shook when the Reaver ship reeled itself in and made contact with Serenity's airlock door. Book lost his grip for a moment, and swung away from the wall, but caught himself and finished sealing the leak.

The two dropped down and took up hiding places flanking the door. Sparks began to fly from a spot near the floor on one side of the large cargo bay door. Mal stood up, eyes wide and jaw set hard. "They're using cutting torches! What's wrong with the release pad?" he said.

Zoë hissed and motioned for him to get down. He looked back at her as if he were going to argue, but then thought better of it and got back behind the crate.

The glowing line of shooting sparks slowly moved up and around the bay door, until it reached the floor on the other side. Then the cut out pushed inward, and fell to the floor with a reverberating clang.

In poured the Reavers.

Two came in first, screaming and growling. They tumbled through the entrance and came up brandishing pistols in each hand and firing indiscriminately into crates and shadows. One of them took aim at the lantern and fired. The lantern held, but swung more violently, and added a spin.

A third and fourth Reaver came through the doors, one holding a massive hammer, and the other one scraping two machetes against each other and looking for targets. His machetes still had bits of hair and flesh caked to the blades with dried blood. Either he saw something, or he picked a direction at random, but either way, he took off running straight for Zoë's second choice of crate.

The one with the hammer was tall and bald, and had plates of jagged metal held to his chest and back with piercings. He swung his hammer up and over his head, smashing a crate to splinters with one blow.

One of the pistoleers caught a glint off of Jayne's scope and spotted him lying on the catwalk. His shot ricochetted off one of the support braces just inches from Jayne's face. Jayne pulled back to a location with more cover. The pistoleer aimed both his guns at the support strut instead, and severed it from the ceiling. The catwalk tilted, nearly throwing Jayne off of it, but it still held by the other three struts.

Finally, the fifth Reaver entered the room. He held a long, curved blade in one hand, and his other, silvery arm dangled at his side. He was bare-chested, and the seam where the metal arm met with the flesh of his shoulder looked like he'd been digging at it. It was torn and bleeding, and it didn't look like the arm was functioning any longer. He stood in the makeshift doorway, looking around for a target.

"Kaylee, get us mobile, now! Wash, hold your position!" Mal yelled into the radio. He stepped around the crate he'd been crouching behind, and tried to get behind Li Jie, to prevent him from escaping back into the Reaver ship.

Book and Zoë stood simultaneously. Zoë brought her mare's leg up and shot the machete Reaver through the middle of the forehead. As he went down, one of the pistoleers brought both of his guns to bear on Zoë, and she ducked back down behind her crate.

Book took his first shot at the hammer man, but the shot glanced off one of the metal plates, doing little more than get his attention. He then saw that Zoë was under attack, so he took his second shot at the pistoleer, getting him squarely between the shoulders. The Reaver staggered forward, but didn't go down.

Li Jie took a swipe at Book, and cut deeply into his gun arm. Mal kicked at the back of Li Jie's knee, forcing him to the ground. "Jayne! Where are you?" Mal shouted.

Jayne swore under his breath and lined up his shot. Just as he pulled the trigger, the pistoleer shot out the second support strut, and the catwalk fell forward. The dart shattered harmlessly on the floor at Li Jie's feet, and Jayne tumbled to the ground. His rifle slid across the deck away from him as he looked up into the mangled and smiling face of the pistoleer.

He pointed both pistols at Jayne, and then his face exploded, spraying Jayne with blood. The Reaver toppled forward, and Jayne scrambled back to get out of the way. Past the fallen Reaver, Jayne could see Mal with his revolver still pointed in his direction. "Jayne. Take the shot!"

Book tossed his shotgun to Mal, and put pressure on his gushing arm. Mal caught it, and pointed it at the remaining pistoleer. The gun was knocked out of his hand by a blow from the hammer. Mal had to jump back to avoid the follow-up blow. "Zoë, little help!" he shouted.

Zoë popped up again, but her Reaver took two shots, and she had to duck back down. She was pinned.

Suddenly, River was there, all bare feet and flowing nightshift. She was behind the gunman, grabbing him by the neck and twisting him around. She used his gun to fire off two quick rounds into the one with the hammer. Once again the metal plates protected him from the damage. River kicked her Reaver in the head, then came around to the front. She twisted his arm, and struck him hard in the elbow, breaking it.

The hammer man broke away from Mal and took a swing at River. She slid under his swing, pulling the other Reaver into it. Its head was shoved down into its neck, and it dropped both it's pistols. River caught one of them before it fell to the ground, turned and put it to the bald Reaver's head. She pulled the trigger, and he fell to the ground.

River turned to point the gun at Li Jie. "No!" Mal said, and moved to stand in her way.

Jayne rolled for his rifle and quickly loaded in another dart.

Li Jie drove his curved blade into Mal's side. Mal looked down at his belly, where the tip of the knife stuck out. River dropped the gun and grasped her own side, gasping.

Jayne took aim and put a dart into Li Jie's upper chest. Li Jie looked his way and snarled. Mal grabbed his hand holding the knife, not letting him twist it.

It didn't look like one dart was going to be enough, so Jayne grabbed another and fumbled to load it. Then, slowly, Li Jie fell backward. Mal gasped, holding the knife in place, then fell to his knees.

Zoë rushed to his side, holding him up. She gently pulled his hand away from the knife handle, then used her own to cover both sides of the wound and press inward. Her hand was quickly soaked in his blood.

Mal put a hand on her shoulder, and she put her own on top of it. "It's okay, captain, the doctor'll fix you up."

"No," he said, pulling his hand out of hers. He pointed past her. She turned and looked where he was pointing. It was the radio, sitting on top of the crate he'd been behind.

Zoë jumped up and grabbed the radio, pushing the send button. "Wash, get us out of here!" she said. "Inara, get ready!"

She rushed back to Mal, who was swaying a bit unsteadily. She dropped the radio and put pressure on his wound again. She looked over her shoulder. "Jayne! Fix the gorram door!"

Jayne jumped into action. He set the rifle down and ran to the big metal plate laying on the deck. He managed to get his fingers under the lip, but couldn't lift it. "Book!" he yelled.

Shepherd Book had his belt tied around his bloody arm, and he was pulling it tight. He seemed to recognize the urgency, so he put the end of the belt between his teeth, grabbed the spray bottle of sealant, and knelt at Jayne's side. He took a couple deep breaths, and put both hands beneath the slab of their cargo bay door. The two grunted loudly as they lifted.

They got the door up a small ways, and Book shifted to put his shoulder under it, pushing with his legs. His grunts began to sound more like a scream, muffled by the belt held firmly between his teeth.

Finally, the door was vertical. Jayne grabbed the sealant and started working on the gap.

"Faster, Jayne!" Zoë yelled. He swore loudly in response.

The radio on the deck crackled to life. "There's another ship out here, Mal!" came Wash's panicked voice. "There wasn't a second ship in your plan, Mal!"

* * *

"Jayne, you've got to hurry," Zoë said, trying to keep the strain of urgency out of her voice for Mal's sake. Based on the placement of the entry and exit wound, he more than likely had a knife blade running through his right kidney.

"I am gorram hurrying!" Jayne yelled back. He'd gotten far enough along with the sealant that Book could stop supporting the door.

He pulled the end of the belt out of his mouth and wrapped it around his arm another couple times, pulling it tight. "I think I'll pay the doctor a visit," Book said, swaying slightly as he walked toward the staircase.

Mal was breathing raggedly, and his hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat. He looked up as River knelt in front of him. "You have to stay awake, captain," she said gently. "Your crew's not out of the woods."

The lights came on, and the crew could feel a sudden burst of acceleration. Jayne slammed against the door while the sealant was still solidifying. He cursed loudly again in the direction of the cockpit.

Book had to grab a handrail to keep from falling over. His vision started to go black, but as the dampeners kicked in, it returned, and he continued up the stairs.

Zoë had to plant one foot heavily behind Mal to keep from losing her grip on the knife in his abdomen. She kept watching his eyes for any sign that he was passing out. Instead, she saw a curious expression fill them, and his breathing slowed and calmed. He was staring deep into River's eyes, and she was somehow holding him there. She'd seen this sort of thing before, in battle, but those times, someone was talking to the wounded man, keeping him present and calm. All she was doing was staring.

"Awfully hard to maneuver with all this dead weight on the belly!" Wash's voice came over the radio that sat between them. Zoë's eyes flickered to it, then back to Mal's.

Then Jayne was there, supporting him from behind. "Job's done. I gotcha, Mal," he said.

Zoë's fingers found the radio, and she brought it up to her face. "Inara, blow them."

There was a trio of explosions that shook the ship. The hull whined as metal stretched and bowed just outside the cargo bay door, but the seal held. The sound of the engines calmed quite a bit.

She clipped the radio to her pants pocket. "Lift him gently, Jayne. We've got to get him to the infirmary."

"You sure we should move him?" he asked.

She took another look at the color of Mal's face. "Yes."

Jayne got both arms under Mal's shoulders and lifted him. Mal screamed, then caught himself. The tail end of it escaped through gritted teeth as a sort of 'hoooo!'

Zoë put one arm under his legs, and the two carried him in a sitting position, with Zoë going backwards, quickly up the stairs.

* * *

They got to the infirmary just as Simon was finishing sealing up the Shepherd's would with a foam that looked very much like what they'd been using on the door. "Lay him down," Simon said as they entered, then turned to Book. "I'm going to get you some intravenous fluids as soon as I'm done with him. Go ahead and pass out if you have to. You're going to be fine."

Book slid to a sitting position against some cabinets while the doctor turned his attention to Mal.

"They're shooting at us!" came Wash's voice over the radio. "Jumping Jack Christ, that was a harpoon! Hold on!" They could feel no difference now, but apparently he was taking evasive measures.

Zoë got Simon's attention. "I'm going up there. Don't let him die."

"I've had worse," Mal struggled to say.

"I won't," the doctor said simply.

"Jayne, go get Li," Mal mumbled. "Truss him good and bring him here."

Zoë grabbed the radio. "I'm on my way, husband," she said into it, then turned and left.

The doctor prepared a syringe, and cradled Mal's arm in the crook of his shoulder while looking for a suitable vein. Mal pulled away. "Don't put me under, doc," he just about managed.

Simon narrowed his eyes in concern. "There's going to be a lot of pain," he said.

"Pain, I can handle. I can't not know."

Simon put down the syringe and picked up a blade.

* * *

As Zoë hurried past the sleeping quarters, Inara entered, removing the helmet from her spacesuit. "What happened down there? It seemed like forever before I got your signal."

"Didn't go to plan. The Reavers were suspicious and came in guns blazing. Mal and Book are hurt, but we got him. You did good," Zoë said.

"I don't know, Zoë," Inara said. "Yeah, there's a sizable hole in the side of that ship, but she's still flying. She's shooting at us."

"That can't be. That ship doesn't have ballast doors. The hull blows, all the air escapes. No pilot's gonna keep flying in a hard vacuum."

"Yeah, well, he is. Maybe he suited up first."

"Gǒushǐ," Zoë said. "It's all up to my husband now." She pushed past Inara and continued up to the cockpit.

Zoë opened the door to the cockpit and stepped inside. Wash turned for the barest of moments, then returned to the scene outside. "Not a good time, honey!" he said.

"Don't mind me then. Just here for moral support."

"Holy Hannah, that was close," Wash said, pulling the flight stick hard to the right and sending Serenity into a spin, then banking hard.

Zoë took the other seat, and looked out the cockpit window as far as she could see. "The ship we hit may still be after us, but it's venting fuel. It's barely limping."

"Really?" Wash said through gritted teeth as he put Serenity into another hard turn. "Been a bit too busy… to notice!"

Zoë ignored the sarcasm. "And the other ship is overclocking the core to keep up with your maneuvers."

"That one I noticed! I can't shake him!" Another harpoon went sailing past within a foot of the starboard bow.

"So, if you got him to follow us past the first ship…"

"I'd have to be insane. Because —" he broke off as he performed a particularly tricky evasion. "Because they'd get a clear shot of us coming, and when we got there, Serenity's engines would set off the gas cloud, killing us all!"

"Only if we didn't have the best pilot in the 'verse, and only if we didn't shut down the engines before entering the cloud."

It took Wash a few moments to work through the implications of what she said. "Well, why don't I do that then?"

The plinking of gatling shells off the cockpit hull brought Wash back to the moment, and he threw the stick hard to the right, then pulled back. He pushed several buttons on the console, then jammed the stick all the way to the left. The Reaver ship they had hit came into view high off port, and he straightened out.

That only lasted a moment though, as he pushed a few more buttons and threw the ship into a corkscrew to avoid incoming fire from both ships.

"The engines, honey," Zoë reminded him.

"Not quite yet…" he said. He was in the zone now. All his nervous energy was gone, despite the bullets whizzing past, and the closeness of the ship. He was playing chicken with a Reaver vessel, and he was in his element.

The Reaver ship started to bank away, and Wash changed his yaw to keep them close.

"Now, maybe?" Zoë asked. Her voice was several notes higher than normal, and her fingers were digging into the arms of her seat.

"Nearly…" Wash said. They were coming in hot toward what appeared to be a collision. "Now!" he said, and leaned forward, flipping a full bank of switches. He swiveled in his chair to face his wife.

She was staring out the cockpit window at the Reaver ship passing close enough to scrape the paint off.

"You see, we needed enough momentum to carry us out of range of the coming explosion."

Zoë just kept staring.

Wash swiveled back and sat at the ready to switch the engines back on. Once the Reaver ship had passed, he gave it two more beats, then flipped them all and grabbed the stick. He pulled back hard.

The second Reaver ship flew past the first one in pursuit of Serenity, paying no heed to how close the two ships got, and when its engines ignited the leaking gas cloud, the two ships went up in a massive fireball.

Wash brought Serenity around so they could see the explosion, and came to a full stop.

Zoë peeled her fingers off the arm of the chair and walked over to kiss her husband on the forehead. "I knew you could do it. I'm going back to the infirmary to see how things are going there."

"I'll lay in a course for Di Yu and meet you back there."

* * *

Wash made it down to the infirmary. Zoë had told Mal about their win over the Reavers, and he had promptly passed out. They had needed the chair for Li Jie though, so Mal was currently laying in a stretcher, shirtless, and with a large gauze pad taped to his lower torso.

"Oh my god," Wash said as he entered, stopping short.

Li Jie's body was a living autopsy. Half the skin of his chest was a mess of healing scar tissues. The sharp edges and long stripes made it look like it had been peeled off with sharp knives and left to fester. Both his nipples were gone, and there was a coil of wire running the length of his sternum, roughly stitching the two sides of his chest together.

His face was even worse. River was dabbing away the blood with a washcloth, and whispering softly to herself. The cloth was already stained a rusty brown, and revealed welts, cuts and scars everywhere she cleaned. Simon was removing a length of copper wire from his other cheek. He glanced up at Wash's outburst, then returned to his work. Even that wasn't the worst of it. The thing that Wash couldn't stop staring at was a chunk of Li Jie's lower lip, which had been bitten through, revealing teeth filed to points.

"We can't bring this… thing back to Li Jie's parents," Wash said when he finally found his voice.

Simon got the copper wire out and set it in a nearby kidney bowl. "He looks pretty rough at this point, but we'll get him cleaned up. I can give him some antibiotics and speed up healing on some of these wounds, do some better stitching on others. The one thing that worries me is this eye."

Wash came closer, then turned away when he saw it. Li Jie's right eyelid had been sliced off, and the orb stared crazily up at the overhead light.

"The doctors on Di Yu can graft him a new lid, but if it's dried out, he may never see out of it again," Simon continued clinically.

"No," Wash said, looking around incredulously. "You don't get it. This is so much worse than thinking your son is dead, getting him back like this! You realize he probably did half that stuff to himself, right? Maybe you can fix his skin. In fact, if you told me you could grow a whole new body for him, I'd believe you, but the brain inside is beyond repair."

"His parents think differently," Book said.

"And they're willing to pay," Jayne added.

"Then they have no idea what they're getting for their money," Wash said.


	3. Chapter 3

Mal was up and walking by the time they reached orbit around Di Yu. Simon had saved his kidney, and much of the color had returned to his face. Except for the fact that he winced every time he took the stairs, he seemed pretty much back to normal. Book had returned to his usual routine as well, and was cracking jokes about his effectiveness in battle.

Zoë communicated with the embassy, and though she didn't speak with Li Jie's parents, she was assured that they'd be at the landing pad when Serenity touched down.

A couple orbits later, and Wash got the okay, breaking orbit and entering the atmosphere. Mal, Zoë, and the others were waiting in the cargo bay, along with a heavily sedated Li Jie, strapped to a stretcher. Inara had found a silk robe to dress him in, but it did little to civilize the disfigured man. His breathing was rapid and ragged, as if he suffered nightmares in his sleep.

Mal's eyes kept going to the harpoon tips still sticking through the wall, and the rough, misshapen line interrupting the door. Once they got paid, he was fixing those first.

When they landed on the diplomatic pad, and the bay doors opened, the crew was startled by the sound of trumpets and cheering. The crew shared a look, and Jayne's hand went to the gun tucked in his belt at the small of his back.

There were hundreds of people lined up on both sides, dressed in their Core-world finest. Confetti was flying from somewhere, and fireworks were going off. A brass band was playing joyous music, and there was a large greeting party waiting at the bottom of the ramp, looking very official. Mr. and Mrs. Tsu were front and center. Mal realized that if anything, the clothes they were wearing when he first saw them was 'dressing down'.

The crew of Serenity stood at the top of the ramp, looking around nervously at the crowd, the musicians, the fireworks, and the politicians. This was about as far from normal as they'd ever experienced.

The music came to a conclusion, and they waited for what was to come next. No one from the greeting party was making a move to come up the ramp or to begin a speech, despite the large microphone placed directly in front of them. After a long, uncomfortable silence, Mal looked back at Zoë and inclined his head towards the crowd, "Should we…?" he said.

"I think so, sir," she responded, and the group started down the ramp, Mal and Jayne carrying the front of the stretcher, and Book and Zoë carrying the back. Kaylee stayed on board with River, enjoying all the pageantry, and openly enjoying Mal's discomfort as well. Simon and Inara flanked the stretcher on each side, and greeted Mr. and Mrs. Tsu when the group came to a stop in front of them.

Inara bowed to Li Jie's mother, who returned the bow. "Mrs. Tsu," she said into the microphone, "we thank you for the honor of this greeting. We bring you peace and good tidings."

"Mr. Tsu," Simon greeted Li Jie's father with a bow, "We return your son to you, though I caution he is not as he was, and it may be some time before he remembers who he really is."

Mr. Tsu spoke next. "We, the parents of Tsu Li Jie, the government who serve him, and the people of this world who love him, greet you, and thank you. We can never repay what you have done this day."

Mrs. Tsu took over. "Our son will receive the best care available, and when he is ready, he will return to the service of these people. We invite you and your crew to join us, for a ball in your honor, as well as our son's."

Mal's face fell. "What? No —" he started. Simon was looking at him with such shock and embarrassment that he stopped and tried to cover it with a cough.

Inara stepped up to the microphone, but was staring down Mal as she spoke. "We are honored by your invitation, and of course, gratefully accept."

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur, and in the end, the band played another tune. Six of the men flanking the Tsus came forward and took up position around the stretcher. Mal and the others stepped out of the way, and they carried it off toward the embassy at a slow parade march. The Tsus followed behind, then the band, and finally the crowd dispersed.

Once the procession had entered the embassy, Inara turned on Mal only to see him seething at her. "This is usually the part where we get paid."

"And you will, nǐ bù nàifán de shānyáng. Just maybe you can be thankful though, and instead of embarrassing them publicly, you can accept their hospitality and allow them this display of honor."

Mal was going to say something, but it was Simon's turn. "Their son was lost to them, and now he's back. You didn't expect them to be grateful?"

"They show me how grateful they are by _paying me_."

"To them, this isn't a business transaction, Mal. It's family." Simon looked around at the group of individuals that were Serenity's crew. "I don't know why I expected you to understand that." With that, he walked up the ramp and put his arms around River.

Mal looked around for a sympathetic face, and settled on Jayne, but was disappointed. Jayne shrugged. "All I heard was they's gonna pay us and feed us too."

* * *

A page from the embassy was sent to Serenity half an hour later to give them their formal invitations. Rooms had been prepared for the entire crew. They understood that there were some injuries involved in Li Jie's liberation, and doctors were standing by to see to their wounds. They would also restock the infirmary to recompense for any treatment already provided. Similarly, Serenity would be refueled at the government's expense.

"The ball is, of course, a formal affair. I'm afraid that the schedule between now and then is fairly packed, and I must ask you to move quickly. I've taken the liberty of setting up appointments for each of you at the spa, the barber and the tailor."

Mal was interrupted again, this time by Kaylee, who loudly let out a 'squee'. Jayne followed up with, "Spa? That's like, girls and massages and baths, right?"

"Yes, that's right," the page said. He looked Jayne up and down. "Especially the bath. Now, Captain Reynolds, if you'd gather your crew and follow me, transportation is waiting." He started down the ramp, just as a crew of workmen were coming up.

Mal looked nervously at the new arrivals. "Wait, who are they?"

"That's the work crew. They're going to see to some repairs. We noticed the damage to your cargo bay door and of course the harpoons protruding from the ship's belly were a dead give-away. That's when we gave the ship a full scan. You have several dozen bullet holes that need filling, a wing strut that's hanging on by a thread, the left injector is clogged nearly closed with tardigrade excrement, and your plasma manifold is barely functioning."

"Ah. No, see, that one we only made _look_ like it wasn't functioning to lure in the Reavers," Mal said, feeling the need to defend his ship.

"No, it's really barely functional."

"I see. In that case can we get a spare as well?"

"I'll make a note. But please, we are in a hurry, if you'd just gather your crew…" The page continued walking backward down the ramp, waving them forward.

Jayne, Book and Kaylee hurried to join him. Mal gave up and walked to the intercom hanging beside the bay door. "All hands, seems we're to put up with some pampering before the big event. Come join us outside the cargo hold post-haste, transportation's leaving shortly."

* * *

Tsu Li Wei stood up when his son was wheeled out of the Operating Room. Tears filled his eyes when he looked at his son's reconstructed face. "My son," he said to the sleeping figure. More would need to be done, but he already looked more like Li Jie than that monster that Reavers had turned him into. His eyelid had been replaced, and there were skin grafts over much of his face and chest, healing nicely already. His lip was still a mess though, and if his nipples had been regrown, they were hidden under the thick straps securing him to the bed. His malfunctioning metal arm had been removed, and the shoulder was covered in new skin. Only the bio-mechanical mount sticking out of his shoulder marred his flesh.

The rolling bed pushed past Li Wei and through a second set of doors, toward Recovery. The lead surgeon stopped to talk to him, pulling down his surgical mask.

"Your son is recovering remarkably well. The skin grafts are taking perfectly, thanks to the tissue samples you brought us prior to his arrival. His blood pressure is high, as well as his heart rate, even under sedation, which concerns me. I'm going to prescribe Indapamide to bring that down. His chart didn't show a history of any heart issues, has he perhaps been taking any traditional medicine to bring it down?"

"No. He had no heart problems before — Tell me, will he be able to attend the ball tonight?"

The surgeon covered his shock well. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tsu. Under no circumstances can he leave the hospital wing tonight."

"It would be good for his people to see him back to his old self. He wouldn't even have to leave the building. The ball is being held right here in the Embassy," his father reasoned.

"I don't think you understand, sir. His physical appearance is no indication of his overall health. He's recovering well, but his condition is still critical. I don't think it's even safe to bring him out of sedation. We don't know what his mental condition is like."

"And I think, doctor, that you don't give my son enough credit. He is a Tsu!" With that, Li Wei left the room, following the path the bed had taken.

* * *

Li Jie's eyes fluttered open, and his father was there waiting. "My son," he said again, his voice dripping with love.

His son's breathing became quick and ragged again. On every exhalation, he made a little growling noise. His eyes focused on his father.

"I know, my son. Your reality has been changed, and now it is hard to accept the familiar. But I know it will come back to you. Truly you are safe now. Your torment is over, and you are with people who love you again."

Li Jie seemed to be listening. His eyes followed his father as he walked around the room, and he stopped growling while his father was speaking. His hand flexed, and the muscles of his arm strained as he tried to raise it.

"Yes, you want to be free, of course. But our doctors need to know that you are safe. Don't worry. I kicked out those other doctors. Only our family doctors are here now. I wonder, do you recognize them?"

Li Jie looked around the room, his eyes focusing on the two other men moving quickly from machine to machine, making sure his fluid levels were optimum, his dosages were correct, and that none of his stats were too far out of line. He turned his head and regarded the stump of his shoulder.

"Yes," his father said, and his eyes snapped back to regard him. "Your arm was too damaged to be kept." He watched the look in his son's eyes, a smile slowly spreading over the proud father's face. He burst out laughing. "I was going to save this for a surprise, but why not. Doctors?"

The doctors stopped what they were doing and moved to a cabinet against one wall. They pulled out a crane like is used on small engines, but hanging from it was a gleaming silvery arm.

"See how he looks at it? Tell me that's not a spark of recognition. We should try it on. Make sure it fits."

"I don't think that's -" one of the doctors started.

"You are not paid to think!" Li Wei yelled. He calmed himself. "Yes. I think we should try it. It might be just the thing to remind him who he is."

The doctors shared a wary look, but said nothing. They wheeled the crane over and attached the metal arm to the bio-mechanical mount. They quickly stepped back out of range of the arm, pulling the crane back with them.

Li Jie didn't lash out. He just looked at it and turned his arm over, wiggling his fingers.

"You see? And you were so worried. It's my son. He just needs reminders. He needs time with his family. With his father."

"Thhhhather," Li Jie said, unable to form a 'fff' sound with his disfigured lip.

Li Wei's eyes lit up and he laughed loudly. "He remembers me! Oh, son, how your mother and I worried. Music! I almost forgot!"

He ran to the chair he had been sitting in before his son woke up, and pulled a case out from below it, setting it on the chair. He spoke over his shoulder as he worked. "Whenever you had anything troubling you, a decision you had to make that troubled you, you would play the violin. The music and the routine would calm you, help you decide." He turned around, holding a violin in one hand, and a bow in the other.

Li Jie's eyes followed the violin as his father brought it close. He reached his metal arm out toward it, and his father reversed it, holding the neck out toward him. Slowly, gently, he placed it in his son's hand.

Li Jie held it, turning it in his hand, regarding it with curiosity, and something like wonder. His other arm started flexing again, and he looked back at it, distracted from his memories.

"Let me get that for you, my son," his father said. He hurried to his side.

"I don't —" the doctor started again.

Li Wei smiled. "He only wants to play."

Li Wei worked to remove the strap that held his son's wrist to the bed.

His son's eyes narrowed as he watched his father work.

* * *

Mal stepped out of his room a transformed man. His suit jacket and pants were still a deep brown, and the vest beneath it was red, but the quality and the cut were both fashionable and expensive.

He stood, looking in the mirror and turning this way and that, catching his reflection from various angles, admiring the low boot, or what the barber had done with his sideburns. Only then did he notice the rest of the group gathered there. He was momentarily embarrassed, then stunned as he turned and saw how they all looked.

River wore a diaphanous robe that incorporated bangles at the ankles and wrists, with long slits for both arm and leg. She had a pair of sandals to complete the ensemble. Shepherd Book had his hair braided in corn rows, then tied with a stately bow in back. He wore a waistcoat with tails, and a grey vest with a paisley motif. Beneath the vest his shirt was starched, bright white and with his typical high collar.

Jayne wore a well-fitted black suit with silver collar-tips and a bolo tie. He was chewing on an unlit cigar. Kaylee wore a lacy-shouldered aquamarine dress with a bustle in the back. Her hair was done up with ribbons throughout, and she was beaming with happiness.

Zoë's dress was a tight-fitting, rusty red number, with a knee-length skirt and Asian dragons flying across it. Wash's suit was a powder blue, and he had a matching pair of sunglasses and top hat. Simon… Well, Mal was so used to seeing Simon dressed to the nines that he didn't see much difference.

But Inara was a vision. Her outfit was reminiscent of Greek sculptures. It was a creamy white, shoulder-baring and low-cut dress that showed one leg up to the hip and covered the other leg entirely. She had a slender gold belt, dangling golden earrings, and a matching necklace with an ivory pendant. Her hair was done up, but left to curl around her temples, and her eyeshadow was a cobalt blue.

Mal covered his sudden speechlessness by nodding politely at each of them. Wash showed off his cuff links and Zoë rolled her eyes as he did so. They were coconut palm trees.

Mrs. Tsu arrived through double doors at the end of the room. "Splendid!" she said. "You all look simply splendid. Well, come along. I hope you all don't mind a bit of praise. People are dying to meet our big new heroes. There may even be a few reporters in the room." She turned and led them out of the room.

Mal took Inara by the arm. "Now it's reporters. Last thing I want to do is step on anyone's feelings, but you have got to find a way that we can get in there, press the necessary flesh, get paid and get out before our story hits the evening waves. I conjure there's more than one Alliance official would take a keen interest in our story and our ship."

Inara nodded her agreement, her face a mask of concern. "Mrs. Tsu, why didn't your husband come with you?" she asked.

"Oh, you know men. No head for planning parties. He used this as an excuse to sit by our son's bedside. He'll be along when the festivities start though. He's more than happy to enjoy the parties that other people plan for him."

The ball room was a short walk down the hall. The doors were opened for them, and when they entered, they were greeted with applause. They were soon surrounded and separated by admiring party goers who wanted to get their stories. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were brought around on silver platters. A string quartet played quietly in one corner.

Several women asked Mal to dance, and while he begged off the first few, he found it increasingly hard to say no. The problem was, once he said yes to one of them, he couldn't say no very convincingly for several turns.

Eventually, one of the women who asked him to dance turned out to be a reporter. Rather than asking questions about their rescue of Li Jie, she wanted to know about his life before that. About his time in the service, and about how he came to be captain of a ship.

Mal became very uncomfortable, and gave her curt answers as they twirled around the dance floor, but that only caused her to dig deeper and ask more pointed questions. He looked around for any excuse to get away, and he noticed that Mrs. Tsu was still alone.

"Will you excuse me, please? I just remembered I need to talk with Mr. Tsu and I haven't seen him yet." Without waiting for an answer, he let go of the reporter's hip and hand and walked off the dance floor in Mrs. Tsu's direction.

"Mrs. Tsu, sorry to interrupt," he said, taking her away from her conversation. "Has your husband shown up yet?"

"No," she said with the air of someone who only just realized what time it was. She looked around the room. "I haven't seen him yet."

Mal gave her his most convincing smile. "I'm sure the time just got away from him. Maybe I should go look in on him. Where's the hospital wing?"

She pointed off toward another pair of doors, still craning her neck to find her husband.

"Excuse me," he said, bowing toward her, then toward the man whose conversation he'd interrupted. He headed toward the buffet table where Jayne and Kaylee were standing. "Jayne, Mr. Tsu's been visiting with Li Jie, and he ain't been seen yet. I want you to grab the tranq gun, just in case."

Jayne stuffed a couple more canapés in his mouth and said, "On it." He headed for the exit.

Mal scanned the room for Zoë, and quickly spotted her and Wash. Zoë was chatting with a group of gentlemen, and Wash was hovering nearby, laughing overly-loudly at their jokes. Mal picked a spot a short way away from them and caught Zoë's eye. She excused herself from the conversation and joined him.

"Mr. Tsu hasn't been seen since visiting Li Jie. Something don't smell right, and I'd feel better if we were armed," he said quietly.

Mal continued to scan the room as he spoke, and he caught Book's eye. Book raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Mal shook his head. He mouthed the words, "Stay. Mingle." Book nodded.

"Come on," Mal said, and Zoë followed him out of the room, back toward their apartments.

Just outside the door, River was sitting on the floor, holding her head in her hands.

Zoë looked at Mal and stopped by River's side. "Mei mei, are you alright?"

River looked up at her, on the verge of tears. "Too many voices in there. It's hard to hear me. But there's someone out here too, someone in pain."

"You'd better come with us," Zoë said, putting an arm around her.

* * *

They returned to their apartments and strapped on their gun belts and holsters. Mal checked one of his revolvers, then held it out toward River, pommel first. "Can I trust you with one of these?" he asked.

She nodded wordlessly and took the gun from him. She held it close to her chest, more like a doll than a weapon. Mal was no longer sure he should have given it to her, but left it alone.

They made their way to the hospital wing. There were only a few rooms for patients and two rooms for surgery, so finding his room shouldn't be difficult, but it wasn't a good sign that no one was at the duty desk.

Mal pointed to his eyes, then motioned with a curving palm, then two quick flicks of his palm forward. Zoë and River nodded. Mal pulled his gun, and crept around the corner. Zoë and River followed at a short distance. Mal pushed open the first door he came to.

The door swung wide on well-oiled hinges, and from where he was standing, Mal could see the legs of a man laying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood. He pointed, for Zoë's benefit, then put his back against the wall of the room and side-stepped in. There were two more bodies dressed in lab coats, and with their necks at odd angles. The room was otherwise empty.

Mal knelt by the man in the pool of blood. He was dressed in Chinese finery, and had a violin bow sticking out of his chest. The skin of his face had also been removed, but Mal checked for a pulse nonetheless.

Li Jie's father was dead.

Mal looked up at River. "Is he the one that was in pain?"

She shook her head.

"He's going for the ball room. Best chance to cause chaos," Zoë said.

Mal stood. "Then we'd better get there first."

* * *

They burst through the doors to the ball room, and immediately started sweeping all the angles for hostiles. The music screeched to a halt, the conversations ended with gasps around the room, and somewhere, someone dropped a glass. The party-goers closest to them backed away.

"Captain Reynolds, what are you doing?" Mrs. Tsu demanded, storming into the suddenly empty space in the center of the room.

Mal hurried over to join her, but initially didn't reply. "River, block that door. Zoë, cover those ones," he said, waving with his pistol toward the main entrance. He then turned to Mrs. Tsu. "Ma'am, your son's escaped. He's killed your husband, and at least two others."

"Oh, dear," she said.

"I'm sure. Look, he'll be coming this way, fit to make mayhem. We need to get everyone out of here, through those doors, now."

"Captain Reynolds," she said, a patronizing smile coming over her face. "My son is not well, but it can't be that bad. A mother and son share a certain bond, you see."

"I'm sure they do, ma'am, but a father and son just shared a certain _violin_ , and it didn't turn out so good."

Zoë opened the door, and Jayne came running in carrying the tranq gun. "Ma'am," he said with a nod to Mrs. Tsu. Then he turned to Mal. "Where should I set up?"

"Right now we've got to get—"

The door to the kitchen burst open, causing another stir. Li Jie pushed one of the cooks into the room with his metal arm around the man's chest. Grasped in his hand was a large carving knife, stained red. Li Jie kept his own body and head behind that of the cook. In his other hand he held a severed head, still dripping blood.

Mal holstered his gun and held his arms up. He slowly stepped in front of Mrs. Tsu. He could just make out a glint of Li Jie's eye in the shadows behind the cook's neck, and he maintained eye contact as the two of them moved.

Zoë moved to join Mal, walking the last several steps. Her gun was holstered, and her hands up as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Mal saw Book edging his way around behind Li Jie to cut off his exit. Mal's eyes must have flickered in that direction, because Li Jie quickly turned his head and threw the severed head at Book.

Book deflected the head, then raised his own hands and started slowly moving away again. The head rolled across the floor, and came to a stop, staring up at the reporter who had been dancing with Mal so recently. She screamed and buried her face in the chest of the man she was standing nearest.

The crowd in the room was near to panic. As Mal and Li Jie slowly circled around, the entire room moved with them. Guests were huddled together, people were crying, and there was an over all din of nervous murmuring.

"Everybody stay calm," Mal said. "Nobody has to get hurt. We don't have any heroes here. Li, look around you. You're safe. Your mom is here."

Li Jie responded by drawing the carving knife across his hostage's chest. The man cried out, and blood began seeping through the sliced fabric of his white uniform shirt. Li Jie brought the knife up to the man's throat, and wrapped his other arm around his chest.

Mrs. Tsu laid a hand on Mal's shoulder and stepped around him. "Xiao Long," she said to him, "do you remember the first time we took you into the city for New Year's? How you were fearful of the crowds, but you loved the music, and the costumes and the bright red lanterns?"

Li Jie brought the knife up in a flash and sliced the cook across the mouth, carving a smile from ear to ear.

Mrs. Tsu stopped walking and began to cry. Mal reached carefully for her shoulder to pull her away from danger, but she kept talking.

"And you had bean cakes for the first time, and you couldn't get enough," she said through her tears. She raised her arms up and held them out wide. She was smiling sadly as she continued. "But at night the fireworks started, and they brought out the dragons, and you ran."

He slowly moved his head to the side, inclining his ear toward her.

She smiled as she spoke. "We searched for you, for hours. Long after the fireworks and the music ended. We were so scared. Finally, we found you, in the back of a vendor's stall with an empty tray of cakes, and sesame all over your face."

Her son brought his head fully around the hostage's. They could see he was wearing his father's face like a mask.

Mrs. Tsu gasped, unable to continue. Blood was pouring down the cook's face, and he gagged on it, spraying a fine mist of red across the carpet in front of him.

Simon was at her shoulder. "Keep talking," he whispered. "He's listening to you. I think it's working."

She stammered, and choked back tears, but couldn't come up with anything to say. Finally, she just started singing. "Shì shàng zhí," she sang through the tears, "yǒu mā ma hǎo." She broke down, crying openly.

Simon put a comforting hand on her shoulder and took up the familiar lullaby. "yǒu mā de hái zi xiàng gè bǎo," he sang softly.

Inara, from across the room, joined in, and Mrs. Tsu started again. "tóu jìn le mā ma de huái bào," they sang.

Kaylee, Zoë, and several more voices from the crowd joined in. Jayne looked around, then with some embarrassment, started singing as well. "xìng fú xiǎng bù liǎo."

Li Jie let go of his hostage. Book motioned for him, and the man ran toward Book. Book grabbed a cloth napkin from a serving table and pressed it against the man's bleeding face.

Li Jie took a couple steps toward his mom, his head cocked curiously to the side. He raised his arms and dropped the knife.

His mother smiled and started toward him again.

Jayne put a tranquilizer dart in his chest. Mal and Zoë rushed in and each grabbed one of his arms.

Li Jie snarled and fought back. Zoë was lifted off the ground for a moment, but managed to keep a hold of his fleshy arm. Mal didn't have a chance. Li Jie threw him off easily, but Mal jumped on him again. "Jayne, reload!" he yelled.

Zoë managed to get his one arm behind him, and she kicked at the back of his knee, to little effect. Li Jie got his hand around Mal's throat and lifted him off the ground.

"Shoot him!" Mal said hoarsely. He struggled, trying to pry his thumb off with one hand, while clawing with his other hand at the seam where metal met flesh at the shoulder.

Jayne struggled to load a second dart, while Li Jie began to squeeze. Mal's eyes rolled back in his head and he started weakly beating on the metal arm with his fists.

A gunshot split the air, and and Li Jie's head whipped back. Mal fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

Li Jie's father's face slid off of his, showing the bullet hole dead center in his forehead. He fell to the floor. His mother screamed, tearing away from Simon, and she ran to her dead son.

Mal, still gasping, looked up to see Wash standing across the room, smoke trickling from the barrel of the gun Mal had given River.

* * *

"Somebody had to do something!" Wash shouted back at Mal. "He was about to kill you!"

"I was evolving a plan!"

"You did say, 'Shoot him!'"

"I was talking to Jayne!"

"He was a Reaver, Mal, nothing good was going to come from this!"

"I have fifty thousand reasons to disagree with you! Reasons I had hopes of collecting on."

"Maybe I shouldn't have shot him! I'd love to see how you collected with your neck snapped!"

Kaylee tried to calm the mood. "At least we got the ship fixed up and restocked. She's never looked so good."

Mal turned on her, but before he spoke, Jayne said, "And they fed us. And I got me some new dancing threads. Ten thousand ain't so bad a payday."

Mal turned on him, but Jayne stood up. "What, Mal? Wash is right. If we just used a bullet instead of a tranq the first time round, she'd be grieving a son instead of a husband _and_ a son. Only two things to do with Reavers. Run like hell, and shoot over your shoulder."

"You see, Mal —" Wash started.

"Wash!" Mal yelled. He looked around the room at all the faces of his crew. "Just —" Not a lot of sympathy there. "Just grab me some sky!"

Mal turned and left the room.

Wash stood, looking around at the rest of the crew. Nobody's eyes met his. Even if he had been right, fifty thousand credits was a lot. He sighed, and left, heading for the cockpit.

He sat in the pilot's seat, sullenly flipping switches and pressing buttons. At least he had the comforting familiar whine of Serenity's engines, and the vibration of her hull. He pulled back on the stick, and Serenity rose from the platform, heading off-world.

He felt soft hands on his shoulders. He didn't look. "It was a good shot though, right?" he said.

"It was a hell of a shot, dear," Zoë said.


End file.
